Under Construction

 I left church yesterday dwelling on this short phrase that the pastor ended his sermon with.  In exciting anticipation of the day that he'll see Jesus and become like him, pastor H.B. Charles said that he may not look like much now, but one day he will look like what, or I should say who, he sees--Jesus Christ.  He said that he was just "temporarily under construction."  Ephesians 6:17 talks of the helmet of salvation.  First Thessalonians 5:8 says to put on the hope of salvation as a helmet.  It is important to protect our minds and have confidence of our salvation.  This assurance keeps us from living in "doubt, distraction, or discouragement" (-H.B.).  God makes us righteous when we put our trust in Him, and He continues to make us righteous until we see Him.

Coincidentally, yesterday I also completed C.S. Lewis's book The Screwtape Letters.  For those unfamiliar, this book is a fictional compilation of letters written from a demon named Screwtape to his demon nephew Wormwood, giving advice on how to manipulate and steer his human subject away from the Enemy (God).  Each letter displays the intricate aspects of human weakness and tendencies to backslide away from the Lord.  The last letter in the book beautifully describes the moment when the human subject died in the war and finally understood Wormwood's dealings with him when he was alive.  Screwtape writes to his nephew, "You have let a soul slip through your fingers.  The howl of sharpened famine for that loss re-echoes at this moment through all the levels of the Kingdom of Noise down to the very Throne itself.  It makes me mad to think of it.  How well I know what happened at the instant when they snatched him from you!  There was a sudden clearing of his eyes (was there not?) as he saw you for the first time, and recognised the part you had had in him and knew that you had it no longer.  Just think (and let it be the beginning of your agony) what he felt at that moment; as if a scab had fallen from an old sore, as if he were emerging from a hideous, shell-like tetter, as if he shuffled off for good and all a defiled, wet, clinging garment.  By Hell, it is misery enough to see them in their mortal days taking off dirtied and uncomfortable clothes and splashing in hot water and giving little grunts of pleasure--stretching their eased limbs.  What, then, of this final stripping, this complete cleansing?"  I wonder what it would be like to experience the complete absence of sin, to understand entirely what God has done for us in our lives and how little we really understood of it on earth.  As of right now, I am currently learning more and more of what it means to be a Christian, walking more than talking.  I still have many ways to improve, but God is my construction worker.

With the start of our high school program this summer, it adds to 2nd Mile's leadership pathway which started with elementary school students, then the Connect Middle School Program was added, and now high school.  The end of the school year was last Friday and I want to take a little time sharing about our six 5th graders moving on to middle school.  This is the fifth year of the two:fiftytwo After School Program and this is the most 5th graders we've ever had in one year of the program.

Ferrell and Mekhi

I've known Ferrell and Mekhi for a long time.  They started in our program when they were in 2nd grade, so for four years they've grown in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with God and man.  I met Ferrell when he was five years old back at summer camp in 2010.  He has a great sense of humor and is very personable with everyone.  He loves football and science, and we bond over some Dude Perfect videos.  It's been fun hanging out with him at the park and even at my house over the years.  We have an agreement that when he gets his driver's license, he'll take me wherever I want to go.  Pretty sweet deal!  He won our Leadership Award at the end of the year and we are excited to see how God shapes his future.  As his grandmother says, "He'll be with y'all forever," and so far that statement is true.  I've never seen a friendship tighter than the one Ferrell and Mekhi have.  Even since 2nd grade, they were great friends despite going to different schools and only meeting at our program.  Mekhi used to be very fidgety and sad/angry at times, but I've seen him grow socially, a lot credited to Ferrell.  He has a very creative mind and works well with his hands.  He got our engineering award and I don't know anyone who knows how to make more kinds of paper airplanes than he can.

Christian

I've only known Christian for the past two years, but his close friendship to Ferrell and Mekhi makes it feel like we've known him for much longer.  Christian also has a great sense of humor and is always willing to help out.  His serving heart isn't without its own purposes as he often tries to find ways to get the things he wants, like food, school supplies, etc.  We think he could be a business owner someday as he is very creative in the ways he helps and makes others happy in order that he himself is helped out.  We hope to spend as much time as we can with him since there's a possibility of moving in his future.

For the 5th grade girls, we have Breana, Caydince, and Myesha.  This was Breana's first year in our after school program, but we knew her from summer day camp so she had some familiarity with 2nd Mile Ministries.  She was the female recipient of our Leadership Award and has demonstrated this leadership by getting other girls excited to start a dance team during our rec time, and by creating box houses and eventually an entire cardboard neighborhood in one section of our facilities.  I feel the least worried about her transition to middle school as I feel she will do great.

Breana and Caydince making/eating sushi

This was Caydince's second year with us.  She and her brother Caden, also in the program, live right next door to the church that our program is held.  She will just as quickly toss a football around as she would do cartwheels and splits and handstands and other gymnastics.  Like Christian, I never really see anyone have a problem with her.  She is a joy to be around.

Myesha

And lastly, Myesha's story is amazing.  She seems to always be smiling and is friendly to everyone, no matter who it is.  I first met Myesha when she joined our program when she was in 3rd grade.  After leaving the program for a year, she came back to us in her 5th grade year.  She has a beautiful voice and has taken piano lessons all year.  What's amazing to me about her story is her ability to be so joyful yet be going through lots of, we'll just say, "stuff" in her family.

As some of these kids either move, or go away for the summer, please pray that they would have people who love them in their lives, pouring into them.  We hope that they are able to continue into Connect (middle school) with us and continue to discover who God is and who they are growing up to become.  God already knows what the final product of these kids will be.  Please pray. Please.